


Glitter Kisses

by lechatnoir



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, M/M, Modern Era, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-08
Updated: 2013-06-01
Packaged: 2017-12-04 15:52:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/712436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lechatnoir/pseuds/lechatnoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern day AU - In which Theon Greyjoy and Robb Stark have been friends since they were little. They spend their time skipping classes, going on adventures, and playing with glitter. </p><p>They also enjoy the smoke filled morning air on a crisp spring day and wonder how the sky doesn't fall when it seems as if the world keeps crashing down on them like waves that need to drown and suffocate. </p><p>(But it's alright because they have each other and they'll make it through, right?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Morning Dew

i.

They grew up together on the streets of Brooklyn, hearing the rickety groan of the D and N trains roar past them in the early morning light as they wake up and wonder why they’re still stuck there, sheets tossed and tangled and they wonder when they’ll finally wake up with a breath of fresh air in their lungs, not the carbon filled smoke that comes from the car exhausts that zip past them in the early morning light as the streets slowly start to fill with kids and their parents and the ever diligent workers who go on off to work in their little cubicles in offices that are floors above the ground level.

 _Same boring shit , different day._

Least, that’s what Theon thinks. 

He can’t sleep – hasn’t been sleeping for a few days now – _nothing new, not here_.

ii.

Ever since his mom died in a car crash and his father has basically disowned him, while his sister is nothing but a bag of sharp barbs and poison words that he knows he shouldn’t even think nor care about but they sting and hurt none the less and he laughs a bit as he sits up in bed, running a hand through his somewhat curly hair and looks out of his window.

It’s spring – the morning air is crisp and cool and he thinks if he lies in bed a bit more and tries to sleep then he can learn how to breath again for another day. 

(Except he can’t sleep so there wouldn’t be any point in that). 

(He doesn’t get that chance though because he’s running on auto pilot and he picks up his cellphone – a crappy black and gold thing with some sort of kraken doodle that he drew on it in white – out while he was bored in one of his classes (not that it wasn’t a common sort of thing, but he liked it and it fit so why the hell not) and dials the number that he knows by heart) 

It’s static, then a few rings, monotone and slow and he figures that it’s a rhythm that he can calm his nerves down a bit – he’s been jittery all night and he can’t put his finger on it – and he lets out a breath that he doesn’t know he was holding and his face lights up like a light bulb when he hears Robb’s voice.

(It’s like he’s a little kid again and mom’s dancing with him to a song that he doesn’t know the words to but he knows that there’s something about the sea and how calm and ever changing it can be and he marvels at how his momma can make everything seem so easy and yet , it wasn’t) 

“Good _morning_ to you too, Squidward” 

“Aren’t _you_ a happy peach this morning!”

“Only you would call me at fucking _five_ in the morning.”

“Well _what_ , you want to be late to class?”

“Theon, you don’t care about class, you cut all of them except for Government and Civics and sometimes you actually eat so you go to lunch!” 

“Yeah but I mean, you know, we do our usual thing, you know? Walk, have a cigarette or two, bitch, the usual deal”

“Theon, did you even _look_ at the calendar?”

“Uhh, no?”

“You would have realized, _genius_ , that today’s _Saturday _. You called me. At five. In the morning. To give me some half assed bullshit reason to go to school, on a _Saturday._ “__

__Well, now he certainly felts stupid because that wasn’t part of the plan but how did that even happen ?_ _

__“Oh , right. Uh… sorry?”_ _

__“I’lll be there in fifteen.”_ _

__:Wait, what?_ _

__“Wha—what – wait what are you even talking about Robb!?”_ _

__“We’re going to do our usual morning thing, you know, the talking, cigarette smokes, that whole shebang.”_ _

__He hears the smile in the other boy’s voice as he quietly hangs up and listens to the radio that crackles from the apartment window below his room.  
(He figures he fell in love with Robb Stark on a Saturday in Brooklyn with the rumble of the D train roaring past his window but in all actuality he fell in love with him when they first met, at the age of seven). _ _

__ii._ _

__It’s a rainy day when they first meet –they end up being in the same second grade class in the local elementary school and they get seated next to each other._ _

__It was one of those old fashioned schools that still had the large wide desks that were used for mechanical drawing (not that they even knew what that was, they were seven after all!) so it was quite large enough to fit two little seven year olds who didn’t seem to want to kill each other in the first five minutes of meeting._ _

__They worked together on making paper crafts, cutting and gluing pieces of paper together and there was quite some glitter._ _

__(Theon remembers getting some pink glitter and dumping it ll over Robb’s head. He ends up regretting that decision right after Robb retaliates with feathers and glue and glitter and it’s not fair it’s not fair it’s not fair.)_ _

__He laughs and he thinks as to what little kids they were way back when, when the world was just a vast majority of something unknown and unexplainable and that was how they managed to act to survive._ _

__(They remember marveling at the colors and the light that the glitter shimmered through Robb’s curly hair and Theon thinks that his best friend has a entire galaxy in his head and maybe he does, with how he laughs and his eyes are lovely lovely lovely, and it’s as if he should be wearing a crown of leaves and gold and steel but that’s in another life with wars and dragons and they were just kids.)_ _

__iii._ _

__They meet up and the air is cool against their skin and they go off on their little adventure. It’s not even an adventure, it’s “My Idiot of a Best Friend Called Me at 5 AM ON A SATURDAY And Here We Are” – sort of trip._ _

__They fall into step with each other – Robb has his hands in his pockets – calm and relaxed and it’s a playful grin on his face as he glances over to his best friend , while Theon can’t seem to stop fidgeting. He doesn’t know why he’s all nerves and excitement but he figures it’s like when they were younger and they cut class in elementary school back in the sixth grade and they went to Manhattan to have an adventure – it feels like that, except that time they were in the winter, all bundled up coats and scarves and they were eleven back then and they’re older now._ _

__“Hey, Theon?”_ _

__“Mm?”_ _

__“Let’s go to Manhattan – to the piers! We can walk through Chinatown and Little Italy and then grab something to eat and wander around and –“_ _

__“Alright alright! We’ll go to the pier! Sometimes I think you’re just a huge overexcited dog”_ _

__“I am not!”_ _

__“Mhm, I’m sure you’re not.”_ _

__“Am not!”_ _

__They would’ve bickered and argued a bit more, except at that moment their train was approaching the station and they had yet to swipe in and make it up the stairs to get out onto the outside level platform._ _

__They had about 2 minutes to swipe in, run up the stairs and catch their train._ _

__Jittery nerves are a bit of a hassle to deal with , but Theon decides to pointedly say ‘Fuck It’ , grabs Robb’s hand and tugs him along to follow him._ _

__It’s the sound of old worn sneaker soles slapping against the wooden floorboards and the sound of two pairs of lungs breathing in sync as they rush and catch their train and they collapse into the empty seats and yet their hands are laced together and they don’t say a word the whole ride to Manhattan, instead, they bask in their little bliss that has overlapped their two realities and worlds._ _

__They figures it’s a small start._ _

__

__(Theon’s breath stutters a bit when they have to get off and Robb pulls him forward, before smiling at him and placing a chaste kiss on his hand and they walk off, hands swinging together and it’s as if there’s a little string that tied them together and hasn’t let go )_ _

__

__It’s perfect._ _


	2. Liars and Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cold nights and whispered thoughts, with the rattle of the old trains to keep them company as they grow closer and closer together while the days slip on by like the scenery outside the train windows.

> _Seems to me quite clear now  
>  Now that you are here how  
> Easily I could begin again _

i.

That day, it is windy and cold and he wonders why he didn’t bring another jacket with him instead of just the t-shirt and the ratty old sweatshirt that he’s been wearing for quite some time.

(There are holes in his sleeves but he learns how to sew so he sews them back together and Robb doesn’t say anything even though he _knows_ the shit that Theon has to put up with from both his father and his sister but he doesn’t say anything to Robb, and Robb doesn’t ask, only holds his hand and gives his shoulder a squeeze before they part ways and the sun’s beating down on Theon’s back and it’s as if he’s in some sort of abyss, where hot and cold don’t make sense and it’s all distorted.)

He remembers turning the lock and barely dodging a plate that almost hits his head – it shatters into a bunch of pieces, all porcelain and fragmented and it stood no chance against the wall’s sheer force – followed by the drunken snarls of his father and the crow’s voice that was his sister, bitching and moaning and he has learned to ignore them for now, face a blank, emotionless mask as he makes his way to his room and he shuts the door behind him, sliding down and shaking and he feels like his head is about to explode and that his body is shutting down.

ii.

He debates dialing Robb’s number (he has it on speed dial anyway, just in case) as the shouts grow louder and louder outside his room but he can’t move (damn nerves) and he’s shaking and he doesn’t realize the tears that streak down his face.

He hears a familiar buzzing sound and his fingers move on autopilot and it’s a miracle that his voice doesn’t shake when he answers - _Hello ?_ and he hears Robb’s voice, calm and cheery and there’s a pang of jealousy as he hears Arya and Bran crash into something and bicker about who has the highest score in Mario Kart and Robb apologizing and tell them to shut up or else he’ll pull out the ‘I’ll Tell Mom ‘ – card and they love him too much to say no to Robb. He doesn’t care because he closes his eyes and listens to the commotion that makes its way over from the other end of the phone but it’s not chaotic or threatening, it’s – it’s as if something that should happen, the _good_ kind of chaos that means that the family is functioning and working. He listens to Robb and he doesn’t realize that his sniffling can be heard except that Robb says that he’ll be over in a few minutes and Theon doesn’t realize that he quite frankly, got lucky with having Robb as a friend.

(He thinks he can kiss Robb senseless the moment he knocks on the front door about half an hour later and surprisingly enough, Asha is off somewhere brooding, while Balon is asleep in front of the TV, bottles of beer and scotch lying about the floor and it’s as if there’s a pig in the house rather than a man. (He’s more of a rat than a man, Theon thinks to himself) )

They end up sitting on Theon’s bed, doing homework as the trains pass on by like old friends in greeting, rumbling and Robb doesn’t say much, he doesn’t have to because they’ve known each other since they were little and it was as if they were talking in their own silent language, and that was more than enough for Theon.

(He thinks, that maybe he can stay for a few days at Robb’s house, try to figure out where he’s going and why)

(Mostly, he wants to feel how it must feel like to be part of a family where people love you and appreciate you, instead of showering you with death threats and constant reminders of how much of a failure and fuck up you are to the family name) 

iii.

The first time they kiss, it happens on one of the backstreets of Chinatown, the very same day they chased down the train at 5:30 AM on a Saturday morning, on that spring day not too far ago. 

It happened gradually – it’s not like they plan these things anyway – they had been walking around the streets, dodging the rush hour crowds and wandering through the streets as they made their way past the Buddhist temple and the large Chase bank as the streetlights hummed and the concrete ground seemed to rumble with laughter as the morning traffic increased gradually despite it being a Saturday morning. 

Apparently people had places to be and see to on a Saturday morning.

Theon and Robb, however, ended up at one of the local bakeries, sipping coffee and green tea and nibbling on vanilla cake slices that ended up being less than five dollars total and they talk quietly, the TV in the corner of the bakery reporting the daily news in rapid Mandarin before switching to Cantonese and by 8 AM they had already made their way along the many vendor filled streets, making their way through the cobblestone paths, bypassing the local schools, watching the kids pile on out from the rickety old yellow school buses that seemed to want to be anywhere else but here as they drop off the Saturday test prep kids to their classes and they hold hands the entire way through, not a word spoken between them. Hesitantly, Theon breaks the silence. 

“Hey Robb?”

“Mmm?”

“You know you could’ve been sleeping now, in bed. Instead, you’re here, with me, in some street that I don’t even know the name of except I can see the bridge so I know we’re almost at the pier, but yeah I mean, really Stark, you could be sleeping in a nice bed and all, wake up to breakfast with the family. Instead you’re here, with me.”

“If I didn’t want to be here then I wouldn’t have been here, Greyjoy.”

“I’m not that- Greyjoy I mean. Disowned, remember?”

“Fucking bullshit is what that is. You want to know why? Because your father lashes out at you for no apparent reason other than you have a shot at making it in the world and he fucked that up when he tried to bribe the local politicians and corrupt the entire district with bribes and backwater deals and you have a clean fucking slate , Theon. You’re not your father, you’re better than him. He’s just jealous.”

He doesn’t expect a kiss from Robb Stark, but he gets one and it’s soft, gentle.

(It’s like a ‘Hello’ sort of thing, but it’s also like he gets a shock and his nerves jump in his skin and he looks at him , grey meeting brown and he smiles, shakily because they haven’t done anything like this before.)

He’s surprised to find his voice again when he grins like an idiot at Robb (who grins back, and they look like a pair of loons, grinning at each other) and says “C’mon, the pier isn’t too far away from here” and they lace their hands together and run off, laughter echoing off the cobblestone street.

iv.

The ocean flickers and the sunlight dances along the water’s surface while the seagulls cry and fly all around them.

It’s a lazy sort of scene, one that might lull you to sleep again if you haven’t fully woken up yet. It’s a reassuring presence to Theon, and maybe it’s because he sees it, all shimmering like a pale fish that he works up the courage to kiss Robb on the mouth when he least expects it.

It all really goes downhill from here, least, that’s what he thinks.

In all actuality they spent the rest of the morning and their afternoon meandering about the shops, and somehow Theon gets glitterized lip balm on his lips from Bed, Bath and Beyond,

Robb is laughing because the shade is far too bright for Theon’s complexion and Robb is a jerk so of course he’d be laughing. Until that is, Theon gets the idea that he likes kissing Robb, and Robb likes being kissed, and put two and two together and viola!

He can still remember the glitter that covered Robb’s face and hands as he tried to push Theon away from getting bright pink glitter on his face, but to no avail. 

They were two idiots, from a bystanders point of view.

From anothers, they were two boys who were slowly falling in love with each other, and who had a habit of involving glitter in their escapades, or so it seemed.


	3. Starting Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they run through the pier and the backalleys of Chinatown, make their way through Central Park, and realize at what a pair of idiots they've been for not getting it together sooner.

i. They don't realize that their little wanderings around the city was a secret 'I Love You' to each other that they ate up and danced around the pavement, old worn soles singing along to the tune of their little love blossoming.

They went from the pier to jumping trains till they reached Central Park and the quiet lull of the afternoon breeze helped them think, each of them lost in their own whirlpools of thoughts and wants and needs.

Maybe it was the sunlight bearing down on them like an old friend as they sat atop of the large rocks that overlooked the lake, an old worn out red stone castle that told the tale of a princess and a prince that lived with the birds in the rookery. They felt warm and safe and yet it was as if they were talking with an old friend who would listen to their woes and worries and while they may not have the most opportune advice to give in return, the boys felt as if it was enough, that the burden felt a little bit lighter than before. 

They held hands and wandered along the pathways, into the more secluded areas by the old statues and the birds kept them company while they sat and talked the day away.

(Their lunch consisted of hot dogs and coffee and they stumbled through a crowd of spectators who watched as a fiddler mesmerized them with the sounds of his instrument strumming and it was as if the notes were alive and dancing up in the air.)

ii.

They don’t really realize it as they walk past the statue of Alice and the Mad Hatter with the words inscribed on the pavement as a group of little kids scrambled up the mushrooms to dart around and pose for pictures while their parents snapped pictures on their smartphones and cameras - they walk in sync and it’s not like they need any actual words by now, they’ve been dancing around each other for a while now, wondering which foot to place where because quite frankly, holding hands was one thing, kissing was an entirely different spectrum that they weren’t sure where to go , what would they be comfortable with? 

It was all very stupid of them though, they both knew (they thought they knew anyway) that they had well, stupid teenage feelings for each other. 

(Robb thinks that Arya would probably roll her eyes and punch him before growling at him at how much of a idiot he is , that _of course_ Theon _fucking ,_ Greyjoy likes you Robb, now shut up and let me play Portal in peace , god.) 

“Hey, Theon?”

“Mm?”

“Would you like to go out? Like, on a date? Like, not as friends but like boyfriends? I mean , I completely understand if you don’t want to or if you’re too busy because trust me, I – “

“You know, it’d be good if you would just shut up every once in a while, Stark” Theon muttered, before smiling and leaning in to kiss him senseless.

Needless to say, Robb couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot for the remainder of the day.

(When he comes home to dinner, Arya smirks at him and he leaves her an extra helping of desert in return, but not before messing up her hair and her kicking him in the knee in retaliation)

 

iii.

Theon comes home to a silent house, empty of life and devoid of anything that might be called ‘home’. 

(He doesn’t care, doesn’t even notice the static of the TV anymore, it’s all just a hushed rumble in the outskirts of his mind, he does almost trip over the stray empty bottle of beer that happens to roll on the floor as his father is one of his seething, brooding moods that he doesn’t notice his worthless ‘son’ slink back into his domain)  
Instead, he makes his way to his bed, crawls up and collapses into it with a huff, the dust particles keeping him company as he slowly fell asleep.

(That night he had no nightmares for the first time since he could remember, he dreamt of wolves and krakens and he thought of a life where he could be a knight, or perhaps a ward to a powerful man in a Northern country, where the winters were long and the people were tough, and he could possibly fall in love with his eldest son, and run free amongst them.)

He falls asleep and thinks he can hear a familiar tune play through the night as he walks along with Robb and he thinks, he can let himself break down a little and let him in.

(It’s only fair, they’ve known each other since for – fucking- ever, it was only a matter of time until they’d be attached by the hip). 

He wakes up to the sunlight beating down on his face and his phone buzzes next to him - there's a text from a number that he could probably recite even if he's dead - _Now you just sound like a fucking moron, Greyjoy_ \- there are only two words, but it brings out a smile could probably light up the sun , and then he thinks that he's a bit of a stupid romantic at heart, even if he would never admit to it .

_Good Morning_


	4. Glass Leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They fight with harsh words and sweeter kisses as rewards.

i.

The first time they fight it is bitter lashes and viper laced venom that they throw at each other, because sometimes, Theon got jealous and angry, because Robb was _his_ and it wasn’t fair that everyone else tried to separate them, whispering little lies and painting him to be a villain, with the only future ahead of him as to be part of a vicious cycle of alcohol and stupidity.

(That’s all those Greyjoys are good for, a strong hold on liquor and maybe some cheap drug sale, or a idea of getting more money, if Balon didn’t spend it on more booze then maybe they could earn some sort of respect, instead of living in the shit hole that they live in now) 

He can only storm off, eyes glaring and lip curling in disgust because of _fucking_ course, Robb Stark is the utter best and everyone loves him.

(They see him as a worthless little son, cast away because he can’t do anything right, can’t stay awake, can’t be positively _normal_ )

He is rage, like the stormy sea – grey and cold and utterly with no control.

So he doesn’t realize it , when words turn into fists and they slam each other into the brick walls , snarls and venom lacing their eyes.  
He hisses and mutters something about hating Robb, something stupid like that.

It doesn’t stop him from leaning in to kiss him, lips and teeth and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

ii.

It is in the heat that they fight, just bundles of nerves and stupid teenage boys, with hormones and snippy, petty barbs tossed at each other.

(They both say that they hate the other, that they should’ve never met, should have never even spoken to each other but they both know that’s just them bullshitting their way out of it, out of the fact that they don’t want to confess to each other.

Don’t want to think that they would cross hell maybe, for the other.

They don’t want to seem stupid and romantic, like something from a trashy romance novel, where the hero always gets the girl and it’s terribly cliché and not _them_ , so it wouldn’t work any way that they tried to make it work)

They don’t talk for days.

iii.

Theon is tired, weary and smokes more cigarettes than he’s smoked in a while, smoke curling through his nostrils and out from his mouth, dancing away into the wisps of the morning clouds, purple and orange and utterly odd in their own way.

He feels like shit, should feel like shit anyway, with how he acted and the silence is crippling him.

(He wants to sleep away the days, wants to lose himself in the constant loop of hatred and self loathing and what an utter asshole he is)

iv.

They don’t know it, but they pick up their phones at the same time, labored quick breaths escaping them because this was different then a fight where they would joke and make up and they’d be fine, they’d gloss over the small stuff and things would go on their way, whichever that way was.

(Robb thinks he’s an ass for not realizing it sooner)

(Theon thinks jealousy is a vicious thing that he needs to learn how to control, or at least, keep away from .) 

It starts with 

“Hello “

“I’m sorry”

And ends with 

“I was a idiot, I didn’t mean it when I said I hated you.”

(What they meant was that they were stupidly in love, up above on the rooftops of their little lives) 

They start with “I’m sorry” , wait with baited breath and listen to the breathing patterns, and they exhale in unison, shaky laughter and stupid hot tears pouring out of their eyes because they’re only little boys and they don’t know how stupid the world is , sometimes.

They start with “Hello and I’m sorry” and end with “I love you” 

They don’t see the impending storm that looms around them, like hailstorms and dark clouds hanging low in the distance, the smell of summer rain humming through the rickety rails of the train as it rumbles on by.


End file.
